Jess Jackson - Winemaker, Philanthropist, Auto Enthusiast
Altruism can be Doubly Rewarding...

Jess Jackson is a Quattroporte owner whose story is both outstanding and inspiring. An intensely private man, he was willing to chat with Maserati Monthly in recognition of Maserati’s support for the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction that is dear to his heart.  Jess Jackson and Maserati recognize in one another a supreme passion for excellence, a track record of attainment, and mutual efforts to give back to the community. The Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction, which helps support a wide variety of charitable causes in the Sonoma Valley, with a focus on children’s health care and education, is just one point where these interests intersect.

Jess Jackson has led a truly remarkable life – growing up during the Great Depression and seeing his father struggling to make ends meet and doing his own part to support the family through jobs in his youth as a policeman and longshoreman. He studied at the University of California at Berkeley on scholarships and became a lawyer – both he and his wife have won cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He became a farmer, growing grapes for the wine industry in the Sonoma Valley in California. And when no one wanted the grapes, he went into wine making, founding the Kendall-Jackson label.

We met Jess and his wife, Barbara Banke, at their pleasant, airy office in the middle of the Sonoma vineyards which Jess has tended for over 25 years. Barbara played a major part in Jess becoming a Maserati owner as she and Peggy Furth are the prime movers behind the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction – which was where Jess acquired his Maserati Quattroporte. Both Jess and Barbara are enthusiastic drivers; although we will draw a discreet veil over some of their more spirited driving anecdotes, suffice to say Jess makes full use of his car, and demonstrated his driving style to us with a tour of the surrounding area.

When asked about his enthusiasm for cars, it becomes clear that this is not a new development. “There’s a part of me that would have loved to have raced, but now I’m an avid collector,” he told us. “I’ve got the third Thunderbird that came off the line, and I’ve got some old Woodies. Usually the cars have some connection to my life. The Maserati is a beautiful car, it gives you pride to own one. I think it will have value for collectors in the long term; I feel it’s so advanced in terms of handling and styling that some day it could be one of the top collector’s items.”

“I don’t use the car often enough. I spend a lot of my time travelling – about half - and a lot of the time when I’m here, I’m driving off-road amongst the vineyards,” he explained. “But when I do get to drive it, I’m fortunate to have the beautiful Sonoma County back roads around here – they are gorgeous to drive, and the handling of the Quattroporte is perfect. I’ve owned Porsches and other exotic cars, and the Quattroporte handles like a sports car. I’ve never lost it on a curve, I’ve never felt it to be out of control, all four wheels are firmly on the ground.”

Much of the conversation centered on a topic about which both Jess and Barbara are deeply passionate – doing what they can to help those less fortunate in the area, and in particular the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction. The success of their various careers may have made them comfortable but Jess has not forgotten the hard lessons of his upbringing. Both are justifiably proud of their achievements; one example they cited was that half of the students at the Sonoma Academy, a new college preparatory school that they helped to found, receive some form of scholarship, they also support the Valley of the Moon Center for abused and neglected children and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma County.

We asked Jess why he thought the winemaking industry should be so clearly interested in giving, so committed to helping the needy in their local communities. “Those of us that have been lucky enough and fortunate enough to succeed in the industry want to give something back. Particularly the family companies; they are very active in this area,” he explained. “It’s a good life, because we love what we do, and because we have been fortunate enough to have the time and money to do it. I think that the wine industry is really just farming and agriculture, and we have a philosophy of giving which comes from the soil, comes from hard work. I think more people in agriculture and farming – and winemaking is just farming, in my opinion - are closer together as families, closer together as a spiritual thing with God, and closer together with their communities, and therefore more giving.

“We also are very proud that the community has been very supportive, along with people from other areas – New York, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Florida,” he continued. “Sometimes things that are in need are very obvious, but people need to rally around a cause, and I think the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction has given people something to rally around, and focus their giving.” Jess was particularly excited about the news that, for the 2007 auction, Maserati North America have gladly donated the first production GranTurismo coupe to land in America. “That’s important, because it helps publicize something very special in the car world, and also helps very good causes. In just three years, the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction has become the third largest charity wine auction in the world, in terms of charitable giving – that’s a very short timescale for what we’ve achieved, and most of the credit must go to Barbara Banke and Peggy Furth,” said Jess.

Jess and Barbara patently do not seek publicity for themselves from their charitable efforts, but rather use events such as the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction solely to generate yet greater donations to the worthy causes they support.  It is a very sincere altruism that comes through in speaking with Jess and Barbara, who are among the most eloquent and passionate speakers we have met. The opportunity to further promote the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction to Maserati enthusiasts is what persuaded the normally reticent Jess to speak with us. We were pleased that he did, since our chat was one of the most interesting and wide-ranging conversations we can recall. For example, when asked which figure from history he would like to meet, he took a minute or two before settling on Roger Williams, one of his ancestors – a man of principle who was chief clerk at the Court of Chancery in England, who went on the run from King Charles I and then Oliver Cromwell, who emigrated to the Massachussetts colony before being forced to flee yet again because of his belief in freedom of conscience, and who finally became the founder of Providence, Rhode Island.  In relating this story, Jess expresses the purity of purpose for which he and the Kendall-Jackson family of wines have become known.  Far from being the result of a public relations plan, this ethos is the realization of one man’s caring personality and formidable intellect.  This obviously extends into the realm of giving, and explains his depth of commitment to the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction and the causes it supports.

Returning to the topic of his Maserati, one of the aspects of the Quattroporte which gives Jess the greatest enjoyment is the way it makes him feel. “It makes me feel younger! It gives me such a rush when it hits 60 in 5.2 seconds, although it also makes me sad that I can’t enjoy it more,” said Jess. “It’s a beautiful car; when I won it in last year’s auction, I was very pleased that Maserati North America allowed me to choose a color. The ladies wanted the Bordeaux Pontevecchio, but I chose the Blu Oceano. It handles so smoothly, you can think you’re going at 50mph, but you realise that it’s more like 75mph. The suspension is exceptional – I don’t feel imperfections in the road when I’m driving it.”

Jess is fiercely possessive of his Maserati – to the point where no one else in the family has driven it yet. “I have to fight my 17-year-old son off. No one in the family touches this car – not even Barbara has driven it yet,” he told us with a chuckle. “I have used it to take some friends on nice tours around Napa and Sonoma Counties. I have let one of my friends drive it, he’s the only other person who’s driven it – he’s one of my board members and a very dear friend. But even he only got a short shot....” So we counted ourselves privileged when he volunteered to take us on an all too brief tour of the area – which showed that he retains both his enthusiasm for driving and the skills to get the most out of his Quattroporte.

The Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction aims to provide aspirational lots, and is proud to have been the first charity auction to have featured a jet airplane. “The auction aims to offer unique and stimulating lots, so you get the double bonus of getting something you’ve always wanted to own or do, and you’re also contributing to charity,” Jess told us. “The enthusiasm of an auction can stimulate things, and the competition can really get people going. It gives you a very warm feeling to be a participant. To have Maserati donate the first GranTurismo will be very helpful in attracting the kind of consumer that we want.”

At this point Barbara, who had been paying close attention and making comments along the way, spoke up. “The Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction is the ideal opportunity to benefit charity and to buy a GranTurismo.” Jess immediately responded: “Pretend I said that! Seriously, the strength of the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction is that most of the lots offer a lifestyle or experience or ownership of a luxury item that people want to have. And the type of people who are attracted to bid at this type of auction are people who can afford this kind of lot. The Quattroporte which I won last year, I feel it’s a world class car. I’ve driven a lot of the cars that it’s competing with, and it deserves to be amongst the top cars in the world.”  We’ll take that as very high praise indeed from an extraordinary man and would venture to say that the chance to spend an hour or three in his and his wife’s company would itself make a fine lot in an auction for those interested in intellectual and spiritual stimulation combined with down-to-earth honesty and a lust for life.

Favorite drink: A world class chardonnay with oysters or Dungeness crab and sourdough

French bread on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Favorite movie: I enjoy so many... Things that combine history and intrigue. I couldn’t pick between the Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Chinatown.

Favorite book: Something to do with history – A Tale of Two Cities, or Dr Zhivago.

Favorite music: Depends on the mood. I love western, classical, opera, swing, jazz, soft rock.
If you changed professions, what would you most like to do: I love breeding and racing thoroughbred horses; the races are the most exciting one or two minutes in sports. At this point, I just want to enjoy what I have; I’d probably just want to raise and train my own horses.

Is there anything you still intend to accomplish: Several things. I’m not yet over the hill – somebody up there will decide when that happens. I’m trying to change the ethics of the thoroughbred horse industry right now. I’d love to have a Kentucky Derby winner.
(Not long after this interview, Jess’ horse, Curlin, placed third in the Kentucky Derby and went on to win the Preakness Stakes.)